Quote:
Originally Posted by jTheUmp
And then there's the "nobody weighing more then X pounds can run the ball" rule. Am I supposed to bring a scale with me to the field?
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I'm not a "real" football official (baseball and basketball are my sports) but I have refereed a local youth football league for several years now. We have a set weight limit in each division that limits the ball carriers to a certain weight. When the players pick up their equipment at the start of the season, they are weighed and if they are over the limit we put a piece of red duct tape across the back of their helmet. They also wear red mouthpieces instead of black. The "over" players can't line up at any skill positions on offense. (They can be anywhere on defense)
As for the "linebackers can't blitz" rule, we have a set definition of linebackers. Every team has to play a 5-2 defense, so the two middle linebackers can't blitz and neither can anyone in the secondary. As long as they're not moving forward before or on the snap, I don't consider it to be a blitz. May not be how everyone sees it, but it usually works. We don't really have a penalty for it, so it's more of a "knock that off" warning, which has always worked. If they really blitz hard and blow a play up before it has a chance to develop, we will play the down over.
We don't have any type of kicking in our league. Drives start on the 20 yard line and punts are 20 yards. (Field is only 70 yards long) 3rd/4th graders can only line up in certain formations on offense and can't run reverses or halfback passes. 5th/6th graders can line up in pretty much any formation and can run reverses and halfback passes. I'm with you guys in that some local rules are silly, but if you do it right and stay consistent, it can work well.